TO PORTILLO: A CITY COMMISSION SEAT ON A SILVER PLATTER?

By Juan Montoya
What do you give a girl who has been given everything and hasn't even voted once in a City of Brownsville election in her life?
How about a few thousand dollars so that she can sit pretty at City Hall and do exactly as she is told by Mayor Tony Martinez and his fellow cabal members of United Brownsville, her former employer?
Such is the gift being handed to District 3 challenger Deborah Portillo and the residents there.
Portillo's 30-day before the election campaign report covering March 1 through April 11 indicates that she has raised the most in contributions for a total of $25,717, spent $4,229 and has $21,487 on hand for a rainy day.
That is far above any other candidate in this city commission election, with only At-Large-B incumbent Rose Gowen coming anywhere close with $10,490 in contributions reported. Gowen reported that she has spent $3,412 and has another $7,161 on hand.
Interestingly, and even though she had a fundraiser at Cobbleheads, Portillo reported no contributions below $50, with Gowen reporting only $1,040 in contribution under $50.
Some observers ay that it is interesting to note that the ususal suspects among the bloggers who regularly report and comment on these type of things to the Texas Ethics Commission have not raised a fuzz to point out that neither Gowen nor Portillo bothered to list the occupation or employers of their contributors.
And to her credit, Gowen showed that she is doing everything in her power to prevent obesity, even among local businesses, by spending no money at all in Brownsville, and $3,412 (all of it) in San Antonio. Let them get fat, hey Rose?
The rest of the other candidates fall far below these numbers with Robert Uresti, challenging Gowen, reporting $940 in expenditures, $137 in contributions under $50 with $200 on hand.
District 3 candidate David Belleperche reported $2,495 in totla contributions, $1,319 in expenditures, and $951 on hand.
The other candidates in the three races vary between these extremes. John Villarreal (District 4), also reported no contributions below $0, $3916 in total expenses, and $3,175 in contributions for the period. Villarreals totals include contributions left over from his previous race.
Rosalio Rosales (District 3) reported $1,671 in expenditures, a $1,000 personal loan and $178 on hand.
Martin Sakis (also District 3) reported no contributions and $3,163 in expenditures.
Letty Perez-Garzoria (challenging Villarreal for District 4) reported $3,007 in contributions ($90 under $50), and $2,350 in total expenditures with a $585 personal loan.
But a cursory glance at the contributions to Portillo indicates that the power elite in the city are putting their eggs in that basket. As a local political wag commented when he saw the contributors, "These are the people who live in the bubble. These are not the average citizens of District 3."
Here is a partial list of those names:
N.O. Simmons, Brownsville, (builder, contractor): $1,000 (same to Gowen)
Jorge Emilio de la Garza, Brownsville, (?) $2,000
Nicolas Serafy Jr., Brownsville (?), $1,000 
Jim Tipton, Brownsville, (auto dealer), $1,500
Deborah Portillo, Rancho Viejo, (mother), $4,000
Port Warehouse Properties, Brownsville, (?), $5,000
Ken Shaefer, (stevedore?), Brownsville, $500
Holiday Inn Express, (?) Brownsville, $500
Hampton Inn Suites, (?) Brownsville, ($500)
Justo Grana, LLC, (?) Brownsville, ($500)      
Julio Grana, (?), Brownsville, $500
Deborah Portillo, self, Brownsville, $1,100
Renato Cardernas, (Cardenas Motors, developer), Brownsville, $250
Jaime Parra Jr., (furniture, finance company), Brownsville, $500  
Jonathan Garcia Law Firm, Brownsville, $500
Esparza and Garza, LLC, lawyers, Brownsville, $250
George Ramirez, arts lover, Brownsville, $100
Alexander Stillman, Brownsville founder ancestor, $250
Reba Cardenas McNair, Carenas heir, McNair mate, Brownsville, $250
Greg S. McCumber, (?) Rancho Viejo, $800
Burton, McCumber, Cortez LLP, (architects?), Brownville, $500
Greg Lamantia, kingmaker, McAllen, $1,500
Pat L. Pace Jr (Elizabeth Conner), (?) Brownsville, $500
William (Sheri) Conner, (?) Brownsville, $500
Jewelry Corner Inc., Brownsville, $250
This last one is interesting because corporations are prohibited from contributing to political campaigns. Whether someone will be interested enough to make hay out of it is anybody's guess.
As far as Gowen's contributions, some are notable for the name of the contributors. They are:
LCGJ Ltd., (?) Brownsville, $1,000  
Carlos (Elvia) Marin, (machivellian schemer and wife), Brownsville, $500
Linebarger, Goggan and Sampson, (delinquent tax collectors for city), Brownsville, $500
N. O. Simmons, (builder, contractor), Brownsville, $1,000
Treviño and Bodden, (lawyers named in Limas case), Brownsville, $500
Reba Cardenas McNair, Brownsville, $250
Treviño and Bodden also contributed $500 to District 4 candidate John Villarreal as did former Cameron County Judge and current Texas Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa.